“It’s getting late,” I said. “Why don’t you just finish up and we can both get out of here?”
At that moment, without a word, she pulled something out of her purse and lobbed it at me. On instinct, I moved forward, one hand still on the mop handle, and grabbed it out of the air; it was an old gym sock, filled with some sand-type of substance and tied in a knot in the middle.
“Ugh.” I pinched the cuff between my fingers and held it up and away from me, then looked at her. “Okay. You just busted the bell curve.”
And then I sneezed. And I sneezed again. The weird peppery smell from earlier came back stronger, overwhelming my senses, and my eyes watered and I sneezed again.
“Yeah, I thought so,” Davina said, and through my sneezing and watery eyes I could see her advancing toward me. “Now don't be alarmed, but you know it had to be done. It wasn't right, them not letting you be what you are.”
I stared at her through watering eyes, my sinuses screaming. “What I am?” I sniffed and tried to blink away the discomfort in my eyes. “What am I?”
She stopped about a foot away from me, and angled her head, amazement in her smiling eyes as she watched me. “Why, you're magic.”
“No, I'm not. I'm a wait-- achoo! -- waitress.” The sharpness in my sinuses intensified, and I shook my head, trying to rid myself of it all, but it only got worse.
“Oh, you're much more than that, Olivia,” she said, and took the sock from me. I backed away from her, sneezing again. She tossed it toward the stool where she'd been sitting, a good ten feet away, but still, I couldn't stop sneezing, and I was starting to panic. I stepped back again, and this time, my foot landed on the wet strands of mop and I lost my balance. I pulled at the mop handle, accidentally whapping myself in the face with it as my arms flailed like a cartoon character's. Davina shouted something and ran for me, but gravity won out and I fell, cracking the back of my head against the magic square. Dazed, I blinked a few times, then saw Davina leaning over me, saying something I couldn't make out, and looking concerned.
“What did you do to me?” I asked, or at least I tried to ask, but my ears were still ringing from the impact, so I'm not sure if any actual words came out.
“Liv!”
I opened my eyes what seemed like a second later, and there was Tobias, hovering over me.
“Oh. Hey.” I pushed myself up on my elbows, and he helped me the rest of the way up, pulling me up by my arms, which were all pins and needles; I must have pinched a nerve or something when I hit the floor.
“What the hell happened?” He helped me up to sit in Booth 9, where I gratefully collapsed, feeling a little dizzy.
I shook my head out and looked at the spot where Davina had been; all that was left was her half-finished meal, and some bills laying next to the plate. No sign of her.
“I… slipped. On the mop.”
He leaned over me, put his hands on either side of my face to hold me still as his gaze flicked back and forth between my eyes, as if measuring the pupils or something. The lights felt exceptionally bright, and I squinted, then swatted his hands away.
“I’m fine. I just fell. What are you doing here, anyway?”
“Forgot something. Came back. Found you splayed on the floor.” He hit that last bit hard, driving his point home.
“Calm down, drama queen,” I said. “I slipped. It's no big deal.”
“You lost consciousness. It's a big deal.” He surveyed me, looking worried. “You sure you’re all right?”
I nodded, although I wasn’t entirely sure; I felt a little dizzy, and all my limbs were tingling, but I didn’t want him making a big deal out of anything. He’d have me in a hospital ER in a heartbeat if he suspected something was wrong. So I pulled on a smile, met his eye, and said, “I’m fine.”
He relaxed a little and straightened up. “Okay. You sit here. I’m gonna clean up and walk you home.”
“I don’t need—” I began, but then his eyes narrowed and I knew the only thing standing between me and six pointless hours in a Buffalo emergency room was my compliance, so I held up my hands in surrender. “Fine.”
He walked over to the counter and started bussing. For a long time, there was just silence, and then he said, “She left you a good tip.”
“Yay,” I said weakly, then leaned back in the booth and waited for Tobias to take me home.
A Little Ray Of Sunshine Page 23